There is a Spanish woman among the most powerful women on the planet.
None of them have financial problems to reach the end of the month and even most have the honor of having entered the Forbes list in 2021, which selects the wealthiest people on the planet. But to enter this selection of the 100 most powerful women in the world, it is not enough just to have money or a position of power, they must also be referents, pioneers, or have a prominent role in donations to try to improve society.
In the 18 years that the American edition of Forbes has been preparing this ranking, it is the third time that the German Angela Merkel does not appear at number 1. Her withdrawal from the chancellorship has left the first place vacant, which happens to be occupied by the philanthropist and billionaire MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, who in turn is the third richest woman in the world. Her unlimited access to that money and her determination to donate in a meaningful way the wealth generated by Amazon – which she herself described as “earned from systems that needed change” – make her worthy of this privileged position.
Mackenzie has earned the throne as the most powerful woman on the planet by signing a donation pledge in which she promised to give away at least half of her wealth for her lifetime. She made this announcement in 2019, shortly after announcing the terms of her divorce on Twitter.
In the second position is Kamala Harris, vice president of the United States, who relegates Christine Lagarde, the president of the European Central Bank, to number 3. There is also a Spanish presence on this list, with the president of Santander, Ana Patricia BotÃn, occupying the seventh place.
All these women represent the thesis that drives the elaboration of this list according to the Forbes criteria: it is not enough to have money or a position of power. A person must be doing something with her fortune, voice, or public platform. While the 2021 World's 100 Most Powerful Women hail from 30 countries and territories and work in finance, technology, politics, philanthropy, or entertainment, they are all united by a sense of duty.
8. Ursula von der Leyen
Ursula von der Leyen is the first woman to hold the presidency of the European Commission, being responsible for legislation that affects more than 700 million Europeans.
7. Ana Patricia Botin
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Ana Patricia BotÃn assumed the presidency of Banco Santander in 2014, after the death of her father, Emilio. Among its most outstanding measures is the acquisition in 2017 of Banco Popular for 1 euro, making it the largest bank in Spain.
6. Abigail Johnson
Abigail Johnson is the President and CEO of Fidelity Investments, with an estimated 24.5% stake in the company, which has $4.2bn (€3.7bn) in assets.
5. Melinda French Gates
Co-president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the former wife of the founder of Microsoft is one of the most powerful women in global philanthropy. One of the foundation's main goals is to help people lead healthy and productive lives. Melinda has devoted much of her work to defend the rights of women and girls.
4. Mary Barra
The CEO of General Motors is the first woman to lead one of the big three automakers in the United States. In addition to investing billions of dollars in electric and autonomous vehicles, she has developed a ride-sharing platform. One of her most notable moves was turning GM's production lines around in the spring of 2020 to help Ventec Life Systems make ventilators needed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
3.Christine Lagarde
Christine Lagarde became the first woman to chair the European Central Bank, after leading the International Monetary Fund for eight years, where she was also a pioneer in holding that position.
2. Kamala Harris
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Kamala Harris became the first black woman to become vice president of the United States. In 2016 she was also the first Indian-American woman to be elected to the US Senate.
1. Mackenzie Scott
Ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, she is a philanthropist and writer noted for her signed commitment to donate at least half of all her wealth throughout her lifetime. In 2020, she announced just over $5.8 billion (€5.13 billion) in donations to some 500 nonprofits, while in June 2021 she donated $2.74 billion (€2.42 billion). ) to 286 institutions.
